optimization

Nothing could be easier than one click to change and customize Windows XP settings, but even with guidance, the novice user will be overwhelmed with all of this program's options.

Ashampo PowerUp XP is listed as freeware, but you will have to register to get it. The demo version is only good for 10 days. The well-organized interface is easy to follow, with a left-hand sash that leads to the seven main categories, which includes Windows, Boot Options, and Security. The main display depends on which category you pick, but each section is organized the same way, with check … Read more

If you're a home user with low-security issues, it's worth trying this user-friendly toolbox of optimizing utilities. Nicely designed with quick performance, Glary Utilities Pro will appeal to less experienced users.

Glary Utilities Pro launches a simply but nicely designed, tabbed interface for performing system cleanup and maintenance. Its basic scan includes a Registry cleaner, shortcuts fixer, startup manager, temporary files cleaner, tracks eraser (activity history and Internet traces), and a spyware and adware remover. Determining how to use this utility is very easy, thanks to its clear-cut design and organization.

Everything performed well in our tests. We … Read more

It requires very little skill to use this system cleanup tool, but that's not necessarily a good thing when you're dealing with the Registry. Ashampoo Magical Optimizer is so easy to use because it removes most of the control from the user.

The colorful interface gives you the option of automatic or manual optimization. What you won't find is a way to back up your files beforehand. This safety net is a standard feature for most Registry cleaners, and one we want in place before any files get deleted. You can select the kinds of files you … Read more

As simple and fast as an electric can opener, WinASO Registry Optimizer offers a hassle-free system tuneup. It finds errors related to your Registry, custom controls, shortcuts, drivers, fonts, shared programs, and configuration files. We were pleased to find you can sort its search results--a useful feature when dealing with long lists. Before deleting found entries, the program suggests backing them up in case something goes wrong.

It also provides a simple tool for cleaning traces left by various applications, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, and ICQ. WinASO doesn't slow system performance when scanning in the background, though the … Read more

Often, asking Windows do your bidding is like disciplining a two-year-old child. You'll get your way in the end, but only after some resistance.

These six top-rated Windows applications optimize XP and Vista--everything from managing the programs that launch on start-up to freeing up your RAM cycles, to plucking out broken links in your Registry.

Most new AV receivers come with an "auto setup" or "automatic calibration" feature, but despite the word automatic, these features can stump AV novices. If you're setting up an AV receiver for the first time, this guide will put you on the right track.

First, let's describe what auto setup systems do.

They send test tones to all the speakers and subwoofer, and use a microphone to pick up the sound of the speakers in your room. Auto setup systems determine speaker sizes and volume levels, set the subwoofer-to-satellite crossover frequency, measure distances from each of the speakers to the listener, and confirm that all of the speaker cables are correctly hooked up. Some receivers also use equalization to balance the frequency response of all the speakers.

Auto setup systems go by different names, but they all do approximately the same thing. Denon and Onkyo feature Audyssey; Sony has Digital Cinema Auto Calibration, Pioneer Multi Channel Acoustic Calibration, and Yamaha uses a Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer.

The exact positioning of the auto calibration microphone is crucial for achieving accurate results. Some auto setup systems work from just one mic position, which would be the primary spot where you sit when watching movies by yourself. Ideally the mic should be placed at the same height as your ears when you're sitting watching a movie.

If you have a camera tripod, use it to place the mic at ear height; perfectionists should move the couch entirely out of the way. Lacking a tripod place the mic on the back of the couch, atop the highest pillow.… Read more

With more app upgrades and service packages adding burdens to our systems every day, finding a reliable means of optimizing and accelerating a system is very important. That makes System Accelerator, a simple-to-use optimizer, very appealing. However, its methods aren't visible to the user, and its online Help file shines no light on how it performs. As a result, determining the effectiveness of its tweaks is difficult.

System Accelerator opens an appealing tabbed interface that's easy to follow. Tick a checkbox for items with performance you want to improve, and hit Next. You'll have to reboot after … Read more

Vista users usually find lots of room to enhance their system's performance. DTweak helps optimize your OS by offering lots of info and options.

DTweak offers a sleek, stylish interface that houses a nice complement of tools that any user will appreciate. Besides the obligatory Registry cleaner and disk defragmenter, this utility offers a variety of system tools and settings to optimize memory and CPU cache, firewall handling, Internet Explorer tweaks, and Windows Update management. This utility responded well during our tests, and seemed to be designed with the user in mind. We liked the way it categorized its … Read more

Reading through an excellent essay in Saturday's Wall Street Journal entitled "Will this Crisis Produce a 'Gatsby'?", left me remembering the title of a book I once read, Hemmingway's The Sun Also Rises.

We've spent the last decade spending like prodigals. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised, then, that so many of us now strain to simply get by. In many ways, as the article points out, we just relived the 1920s and American idealism is now being harshly battered by 1930s style depression, which simply illustrates just how uneven the promise of American mobility … Read more